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Supporters of the Voting Rights Act listen to speakers discussing the Supreme Court's rulings outside the court building in June 2013. The court ruled that Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act, aimed at protecting minority voters, is unconstitutional.

In the aftermath of a Supreme Court ruling last year, advocates worry that jurisdictions are quietly making changes to disenfranchise minorities. A training program is designed to counter that.

Already one of the longest-serving attorneys general in history, Eric Holder says he has no immediate plans or timetable to leave. Here, he speaks at the annual Attorneys General Winter Meeting in Washington on Feb. 25.

Holder Speaks Out On Snowden, Drone Policy, Softening Sentences

In an interview, Eric Holder says he's open to talking with Edward Snowden about terms of surrender. The attorney general is unhappy with the vote to block a nominee to a top Justice Department post.

Justice Dept. Asks For Help Finding Prisoners Who Deserve Clemency

Longtime followers of the pardon power have criticized President Obama's relatively stingy approach over five years in office. An advocate for ending mandatory minimum sentences says she's "really encouraged" by the new push for clemency.

Top Justice Dept. Official Quietly Stepped Down In December

Virginia Seitz, who led the influential Justice Department office that offers legal advice on surveillance, drones and other issues, resigned after 2 1/2 years on the job.

Debo Adegbile, special counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, speaks with the media outside the Supreme Court in Feb. 2013 after presenting arguments in the Shelby County, Ala., v. Holder voting rights case.

Senate Democrats Defect On Obama Civil Rights Nominee

The clash over attorney Debo Adegbile's Justice Dept. nomination pitted powerful law enforcement interests against the civil rights community.

Attorney General Eric Holder (R) and Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division Thomas Perez in 2010 in Washington, D.C.

Justice's Voting Rights Unit Suffers 'Deep Ideological Polarization' Says Watchdog

An inspector general investigation exposed deep fissures within the unit for the past dozen years and gave rise to perceptions of politicized and partial behavior by lawyers there.

Assistant US Attorney General Lanny Breuer in December of 2012.

Lanny Breuer, Justice Dept.'s Criminal Division Chief, Says He Will Step Down

Breuer's tenure as chief of the Justice Department's criminal division was marked by the scandal of "Fast and Furious" gun-walking operation and the biggest biggest criminal investigation in department history.

Attorney General Eric Holder speaks before a meeting of the National Association of Attorneys General on Tuesday.

Justice Department Warns Of 'Pain' From Looming Cuts

The Obama administration warns that the situation looks ugly for the department under the sequester. But for now, the most alarming claims — that prosecutors will drop cases and criminals will walk free — seem to be just that: alarms.

Polling Firm Gallup Lands In Legal Hot Water

The company's name has been tarnished by a whistle-blower lawsuit alleging that it overcharged the federal government, and by a guilty plea from a former FEMA executive for improperly steering business to the polling firm. For now, Gallup has been suspended from winning any new federal contracts.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., voted to allow guns in national parks and on Amtrak trains, but rejects suggestions that he'll slow-walk gun control efforts through Congress.

A Gun Owner From The Left, Sen. Leahy Leads The Debate

He's voted to allow guns in national parks and Amtrak trains, but Sen. Patrick Leahy rejects suggestions that he'll slow-walk gun control efforts through Congress. Leahy chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, which begins hearings on the issue at the end of this month.

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